East Texas Crisis Center executive director Nichole Henry, left, receives the keys to the new van from Rusty McKee, right, of Day Springs Methodist Church. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Nichole Henry, Executive Director of the East Texas Crisis Center (ETCC), had long prioritized acquiring an agency van to safely transport survivors to crucial destinations such as court hearings, hospitals, and police stations.

“Many of the women that come to us don’t have transportation or they may have transportation but it’s not reliable … it’s not always working,” Henry said. “We are here to provide a life saving intervention: intimate partner of violence, domestic violence, family violence … it is an epidemic in itself.”

Thanks to Day Springs Methodist Church, the East Texas Crisis Center received a brand-new 2024 Kia Carnival Minivan.

“This van will provide transportation for our residents in the shelter that have medical appointments … also have job interviews and are looking for a new home, a new apartment,” Henry said. “Our case managers and advocates will take them where they need to go in and so this van provides that transportation.”

The residents had been given passes for rideshares, buses and other means of transportation.

“There are tangible needs — like a van — that our shelter needs,” Henry said. “So, if there’s a way that your organization wants to support the East Texas Crisis Center, it can be by helping us purchase a big ticket item that … helps us to expand our services and increase our reach across the Smith County community.”

East Texas Crisis Centers provides safety, shelter, counseling, advocacy, and education to survivors of family violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and other violent crimes in Smith, Wood, Rains, Henderson, and Van Zandt counties. The nonprofit is also 60 percent community funded.

“We need the support of the community … we can’t do it alone,” Henry said. “We have wonderful employees. We have a wonderful board of directors. We have wonderful volunteers, but we still need the support of the community to help us get this work done because it’s important work and it’s life-saving work.”

Rusty McKee, pastor of Day Springs Methodist Church, says the church selects a cause to support during the holidays.

“We like to pick one thing at the end of the year, especially when people are in a very giving mood … it’s Christmas time, it’s the end of year … we want to do something big for one of our partners or something in the community that the community needs,” he said.

During the month of December, members of the church were asked to donate as much as they could to raise the goal of $30,000 for the ETCC’s transport van. Due to the generosity of the congregation, the church exceeded the goal with $32,000.

“We’ve had people give $5, some gave thousands of dollars,” McKee said. “We saw participation from children, teenagers, adults … all giving what they could to bless this ministry.”

“To me that speaks to their heart and generosity that the people were willing to give when they heard of the cause … and that reminds me of the giving nature of the citizens of Tyler,” Henry said. “It’s been a blessing to see how caring the citizens are for the women and children that we serve.”

The church gave the donors Christmas tree ornaments that had ‘ETCC 2023’ written on it as a reminder of their holiday generosity.

Day Springs Methodist Church became involved with the nonprofit organization through one of its members, who serves on the board of ETCC.

“Purchasing a vehicle like this is a big goal,” McKee said. “If we don’t get enough, then we’ll buy (ETCC) new tires or we’ll make sure they oil changes for the new vehicle … whatever it is they need.”

McKee encourages churches to inquire directly with their causes about their specific needs, rather than solely focusing on fundraising efforts.

“When churches ask, it really multiplies ministry in the community in such a beautiful way … instead of just trying to throw money or things or even people at situations and ministries,” McKee said. “We do this with all of our partners at Day Spring, (like) ‘what do you need? What do you want? What would better help you serve the people that you serve?’”

Because of Day Springs’ support with ETCC, the church has also been successful in training some of their members and advocates for the nonprofit.

“The East Texas Crisis Center has been here for a long time,” McKee said. “They have served hundreds of people in crisis … and what this van is gonna do for this ministry is to help them serve people better. It’s gonna help them more efficiently and, more effectively, help people in crisis.”

If you would like to further support the East Texas Crisis Center with larger contributions, they are currently in need of security cameras to enhance safety measures for both survivors and ETCC staff, protecting them from potential harm by violent offenders.

They also urgently require air conditioning units, which range in cost from $7,000 to $8,000 each, to ensure a comfortable and safe environment for those at the center.

“We are approaching the dreaded Texas summer heat, and currently we have one A/C Unit in our kitchen that has gone out and needs to be replaced,” said Jeremy Flowers, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for East Texas Crisis Center. “It is very likely that with as many units in the facility that we have, and how old they are, that more will go out during the summer.”

Additionally, some of the children’s playground surface needs to be replaced.

“The children’s playground is very popular among the children who reside in the emergency shelter, and without access to it, it limits their outdoor activity considering we only have one playground that holds all of the playground equipment.” Flowers said.

Assistance with any of these items would make a dramatic impact in the lives of survivors of intimate partner violence, and sexual assault in the East Texas community. To get in touch with ETCC about these inquiries, please call them at 903-509-2526. You can also visit their website, etcc.org for more information.